JP6416775B2 - Lighting strip, lighting system, panel support element and modular panel system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a lighting strip.

  The invention further relates to a lighting system comprising such a lighting strip.

  The invention further relates to a support element comprising such a lighting strip.

  The invention further relates to a modular panel system having such a lighting strip.

  Today, solid state lighting elements such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) have pioneered many applications due to their attractive properties such as high light output, low energy consumption and long lifetime. For example, high light output allows large areas to be illuminated by a limited number of solid state lighting elements, especially when solid state lighting elements are combined with light guides that disperse the output of the solid state lighting elements over a large area To.

  Due to the cost of solid state lighting elements, there is a motivation to achieve sufficient lighting levels with a minimum number of solid state lighting elements in order to make lighting products commercially attractive. However, this is not a simple task. This is because it is not trivial to prevent the occurrence of losses by optical elements such as optical waveguides that are necessary to achieve a desired light distribution profile.

  Different applications require different types of light distribution. For example, in a modular panel system such as a suspended ceiling, it may be desirable to generate light that is highly diffuse in order to prevent glare. On the other hand, it may be desirable to produce light of a more collimated nature in domestic applications such as lighting under a shelf or lighting under a cabinet, for example in a kitchen, library or reading room.

  Applicant's WO 2012/131636 discloses a solid state lighting strip for mounting in or on a panel support element of a modular panel system. The strip has a plurality of solid state lighting elements, a light extraction layer, and a glare reduction layer. The solid state lighting element is configured such that light emitted by the element is coupled into the glare reduction layer via the light extraction layer. Solid state lighting strips can be used as part of lighting systems, panel support elements and modular panel systems.

  This lighting strip is particularly suitable for low-power side-emitting solid state lighting elements, for example side-emitting LEDs, which are regularly spaced along the light extraction layer to ensure a uniform output by the solid-state lighting strip. Yes. However, this solution is not well suited for producing a collimated light output using a minimal number of solid state lighting elements, and therefore, for example, in applications where such collimation is desirable, such as under a shelf. It is not very attractive for use in lighting strips for lighting or lighting under the cabinet.

  The present invention seeks to provide an illumination strip that reduces the number of solid state lighting elements required to obtain a uniform, relatively collimated light output.

  The present invention further seeks to provide an illumination system having such an improved illumination strip.

  The present invention still further seeks to provide a support element having such an improved lighting strip.

  The present invention still further seeks to provide a modular panel system having such an improved lighting strip.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lighting strip having a tapered portion extending in a length direction of the strip and tapered from a thin edge portion to a thick edge portion in a width direction of the strip. An optical waveguide having at least one solid-state lighting element incorporated in the optical waveguide and configured to emit light in the length direction into the optical waveguide; and the thin edge of the tapered portion for emitting the emitted light An illumination strip is provided having a light scattering pattern on the thick edge of the tapered portion for redirection to the end.

  The illumination strip comprises a combination of a tapered portion, eg, a wedge-shaped portion, and a suitable light scattering pattern on the thick edge or sidewall of the wedge-shaped or tapered portion, wherein one or more solid-state lighting elements are Arranged at regular intervals beside the optical waveguide, for example, by ensuring that light is generated in the length direction of the optical waveguide, ie in the direction perpendicular to the width direction of the optical waveguide Compared to a lighting strip with a solid-state lighting element, a significantly fewer solid-state lighting element, for example an LED, is used to produce a highly collimated and uniform light output from the thin edge of the lighting strip Benefit from the fact that it can be utilized for.

  In an embodiment, the illumination strip further comprises a plurality of recesses each having a scattering cavity having an exit surface facing the lengthwise direction, wherein each solid state lighting element is one of the scattering cavities. Placed inside. This has the advantage that a high-power top-emitting solid state lighting element can be used so that a very collimated and uniform light output can be generated with a minimal number of such lighting elements. Preferably, each solid state element emits light toward the scattering cavity in a light emission direction perpendicular to the width direction and the length direction, similar to a top emission solid state lighting element such as a top emission LED. Composed.

  In an embodiment, the at least one solid state lighting element has a white color at the longitudinal end of the lighting strip to achieve propagation of the emitted light in the lengthwise direction of the lighting strip. It has an optical solid state lighting element. In order to increase the light output, the at least one solid state lighting element has both longitudinal ends of the lighting strip to achieve propagation of the emitted light in the lengthwise direction of the lighting strip. The unit may have a pair of white light solid state lighting elements.

  It is not always necessary to obtain white light. In another example, the at least one solid state lighting element comprises a first group of solid state lighting elements, and the first group comprises solid state lighting elements that emit different colors.

  In an embodiment, the different colors are mixed to form white light.

In still another embodiment, the at least one solid state lighting element has first and second groups of solid state lighting elements at both ends in the length direction, and the first group and the second group Each has a solid state lighting element that emits a different color.
In an embodiment, the optical waveguide has a pair of tapered portions, the pair of tapered portions configured such that the thin edge portions of the pair face each other. This configuration is particularly advantageous because it achieves high collimation in the center of the lighting strip and sufficiently separates the opposing solid state lighting elements to simplify thermal management of the lighting strip.

  In another embodiment, the optical waveguide has a pair of tapered portions, the pair of tapered portions configured such that the thick edges of the pair face each other. This configuration is particularly advantageous when high collimation of the light output of the lighting strip is not very important. Because this embodiment allows for a more aesthetic appearance of the lighting strip, the solid state element is closer in the middle of the lighting strip where the thick edges of the tapered portions face each other. This is because the fact that they can be packed together has the advantage of requiring less printed circuit board area.

  The illumination strip covers at least a portion of the optical waveguide, such as a specular reflector, overlying an unexposed surface of the optical waveguide extending in the width direction to further improve the output efficiency of the illumination strip. You may further have a reflective element.

  The light scattering pattern may comprise a pattern of paint dots, which has the advantage that a suitable redirection pattern can be created with minimal cost.

  According to another aspect of the invention, an illumination system is provided that includes a plurality of illumination strips of the invention. The lighting system may further comprise a controller for setting the light output of the individual lighting strips as a function of at least one of incident sunlight, room layout and room occupancy. This allows the output of the lighting strip to be adapted to local needs, for example in areas such as aisles, office spaces, printing areas and / or in the presence of room occupants. To do. For this purpose, the lighting system may further comprise a presence sensor for detecting the presence of a person in the room, and the control device is responsive to the presence sensor.

  According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a panel support element is provided for a modular panel system having the lighting strip of the present invention. The lighting strip may be attached to or incorporated in the support element.

  According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a support member for mounting to a building structure, a support grid having a support element for extending between the support members, and a support grid required for the support grid. There is provided a modular panel system having a plurality of sized panels, wherein the support grid has a plurality of lighting strips of the present invention. The lighting strip is preferably incorporated or attached to the support element.

  Preferably, the ratio between the width of the exit window of the lighting strip and the pitch of the panel support elements in the support grid is 0.02 to 0.08 to ensure that the illumination level in the room meets the glare requirements. Is selected within the range. More preferably, this ratio is chosen to be 0.04.

  Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail, by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 schematically illustrates a known optical waveguide having a scattering cavity. 1 schematically illustrates an optical strip of an illumination strip according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 schematically illustrates a light guide of an illumination strip according to another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a light guide of an illumination strip according to yet another embodiment of the invention. 1 schematically illustrates a lighting fixture according to an embodiment of the present invention and a simulation result of luminance of the lighting fixture. 6 illustrates a simulation result of a light output distribution of the lighting fixture of FIG. Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a light guide of an illumination strip according to another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 4 schematically illustrates a light guide of an illumination strip according to a further embodiment of the invention. Fig. 3 schematically illustrates a part of a modular panel system including a lighting strip according to another embodiment of the invention. Fig. 6 schematically illustrates a part of a modular panel system including a lighting strip according to yet another embodiment of the invention. 1 schematically illustrates a room with a modular panel system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 schematically illustrates in more detail a modular panel system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  It should be understood that the figures are merely schematic and are not drawn to scale. It should also be understood that throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts.

  FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a known configuration of a flat waveguide 30 including a scattering cavity 32 in which a top-emitting LED is arranged. The scattering cavity 32 has an exit window in the YZ plane so that light emitted by the LEDs in the cavity can only exit in the X direction as shown by the scattering pattern 34. The bottom surface of the flat waveguide 30 generally has a light extraction pattern that extracts emitted light from the waveguide 30. However, in this configuration, the extracted light is such that a relatively thick secondary optical component such as a microlens optical plate needs to be used to generate the desired beam shape with sufficient directivity. It has a Lambertian distribution with a low degree of collimation.

  In accordance with certain aspects of the present invention, this problem is addressed by providing an illumination strip that includes a light guide having a tapered or wedge-shaped portion, such that the light guide can act like a prism. ing. The solid state lighting element is disposed in the light guide so as to emit light in the length direction of the illumination strip through the light guide. The optical waveguide tapers in a direction perpendicular to the direction of propagation of the emitted light, i.e., in the width direction of the illumination strip, so that the propagating light is thin in order for the waveguide to produce the desired beam shape. It can be forced to exit the optical waveguide at the thin end of the tapered portion with a high degree of collimation so that it can be combined with the next optical component. Since the taper degree, for example, the thickness of the thin edge of the wedge-shaped light guide, affects the degree of collimation of the light exiting the light guide, the taper degree can be varied according to the desired degree of collimation achieved by the illumination strip. .

  An example of such an optical waveguide configuration is schematically illustrated in FIG. The tapered optical waveguide 120 has a scattering cavity 112 in which a top emitting solid state lighting element 110 such as an LED is disposed. The scattering cavity 112 allows light scattered within the scattering cavity 112 to exit in a direction perpendicular to the taper direction of the tapered optical waveguide 120, as indicated by the dashed arrows in FIG. It has two exit windows. Such a scattering cavity 112 can be realized, for example, by forming holes of any suitable shape in the optical waveguide 120, for example, rectangular holes, and disposing the scattering cavity 112 in these holes. . The optical waveguide 120 has a thick edge 122 and a thin edge 124 because of its tapered shape or wedge shape. For purposes of this application, the terms thick and thin with respect to edges 122 and 124 are merely used to indicate that edge 122 is thicker than edge 124, and their relative terms. The use of should not lead to further inference results.

  To redirect the light emitted by the solid state lighting element 110 to the thin edge 124 of the light guide 120 so that the light is collimated and coupled out of the light guide 120 in a wedge or taper direction. A scattering pattern 130 is provided on the side surface of the optical waveguide 120. The thin edge thickness can be chosen according to the desired degree of collimation, as explained above. The scattering or redirecting pattern 130 is used to ensure a uniform light output from the light guide 120, such as the periodic illumination of the solid state lighting next to the light guide 120 as disclosed in WO 2012/131636, for example. Can be designed to mimic a pattern. The definition of such a suitable reorientation pattern itself is well known and will not be described in further detail for the sake of brevity. Such a scattering pattern 130 can be realized in any suitable manner. Particularly preferred is a highly scattering paint dot pattern. This is because such paint dots are easily applied in any suitable pattern.

  In FIG. 2, the optical waveguide 120 has a single tapered portion. It should be understood that this is only a non-limiting example. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, respectively, an optical waveguide 120 having a pair of such tapered portions may be provided. In FIG. 3, the thin edge portions 124 of each tapered portion face each other. In this case, light having a high degree of collimation is emitted mainly from the center of the optical waveguide 120. This also has the advantage that the opposing solid state lighting elements 110 are moved relatively far from each other, which at the cost of a relatively large PCB simplifies the thermal management of the lighting strip 100.

  In FIG. 4, the thick edges 122 of each tapered portion face each other. In this case, light is emitted mainly from the edge of the optical waveguide 120. The light emitted from this lighting strip 100 is generally less collimated than the light from the lighting strip in FIG. 3, but in this embodiment the solid state lighting elements 110 are close to each other near the center of the lighting strip 100. Thus reducing the required area of the PCB to which the solid state lighting element 110 is mounted, which has the advantage of reducing the cost of the lighting strip 100. Furthermore, the arrangement of the thin edge of the light guide 120 facilitates a thinner lighting strip 100, which may be aesthetically pleasing in some applications.

  When such a double wedge design is used, the reflective element tapers from the unexposed surface of the light guide 120, ie, from the thick edge 122 to the thin edge 124 of the light guide 120. It may be advantageous to include a reflective element, such as a specular reflector, in the design of the illumination strip so that the beam is guided in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the optical waveguide 120, so that it is arranged over a non-planar surface. Facilitates emission from the waveguide 120 and reduces light loss through the surface of the optical waveguide 120 that is not intended to emit light. The lighting strip 100 may further include a redirecting foil across its light emitting surface to redirect the emitted light if necessary. Such redirection foils are known per se and will not be described in further detail for the sake of brevity.

  FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a luminaire or lighting strip 100 that includes a waveguide configuration as shown in FIG. FIG. 5 (a) shows a side view including a reflective housing 140 for the optical waveguide 120, and FIG. 5 (b) shows the optical waveguide with the reflective housing 140 omitted for clarity. FIG. 5C shows a top view showing the distribution of the solid state lighting elements 110 in 120, and FIG. 5C shows a scattering paint pattern 130 applied to the thick edge 122 of the wedge portion of the optical waveguide 120. FIG. 5 (d) illustrates the calculated brightness of the luminaire 100, from which a highly collimated, strong and uniform output is achieved, as indicated by the arrows. It is clear to get.

  Note that the efficiency of an optical waveguide 120 that includes one or more tapered portions correlates with the height of the thick edge 122 of such tapered portions. The increased thickness improves the efficiency of the optical waveguide 120. In FIG. 5, a thickness of 2 mm, which is estimated to have an efficiency of about 70%, is selected.

  The directivity of the output beam of the illumination strip 100 of FIG. 5 is shown in more detail in FIG. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the tapered light guide 120 is combined with a solid state lighting element 110 configured to generate light in the length direction of the light guide 120 and hence in the length direction of the luminaire 100. In this way, a highly directional output beam can be created. Note that for the sake of completeness, the direction of the light guide 120 generally corresponds to the width direction of the luminaire 100.

  It should be noted here that the luminaire or lighting strip 100 according to the invention can also be realized without a scattering cavity. Figures 7 and 8 show such other embodiments. In FIG. 7, the white light generating solid element 110 is disposed at both ends of the tapered optical waveguide 120 such that the optical waveguide 120 separates the white light generating solid element 110 in the length direction. FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment in which two white light generating solid elements 110 are shown, but one of the white light generating solid elements 110 may be omitted without departing from the teachings of the present invention. It should be understood that he can.

Instead of the white light generating solid element 110, a group of solid elements 110a to 110c generating different colors may be used as shown in FIG.
The different colors may be combined to generate white light, for example, a red light generating solid state lighting element 110a, a green light generating solid state lighting element 110b, and a blue light generating solid state lighting element 110c may be combined. . In other examples, the different colors may be combined to produce colored light, ie light that is not white. Of course, different color combinations using different numbers of solid state lighting elements are equally feasible.

  Also, FIG. 8 illustrates two groups of solid state elements 110a-110c that generate different colors at both ends of the lighting strip 100, one of which is a book. It can be omitted without departing from the teaching of the invention.

  Further, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate an embodiment in which the light guide 120 has a single tapered portion, but of course the solid state lighting element 110 in the scattering cavity 112 is shown in FIGS. It can be equally understood that it is equally feasible to provide a pair of tapered optical waveguides as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 replaced by a pure white light or colored light producing solid state lighting element. It should be.

  FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of a lighting strip 100 that is particularly suitable for retrofit purposes. The lighting strip 100 is attached to the bottom surface of a shelf or cupboard, for example, or in other examples to the exposed surface of the panel support element 210 of a modular panel system such as a suspended ceiling. The panel support element 210 is T-shaped as a non-limiting example. The illumination strip 100 includes a bottom surface 142 that includes a light exit window 144, a top surface 148 that faces the T-shaped panel support element 210, and a side surface 156 that extends from the bottom surface 152 to the top surface 158 in the length direction of the housing 150. A housing 140 is provided. A secondary optical element 160, eg, a direction changing foil, a beam shaping element or a glare reduction element, is mounted across the light exit window 144 with the optical waveguide 120 positioned between the top surface 158 and the secondary optical element 160. For example, it may be fixed. As described above, the solid state lighting element 110 is disposed in the light guide 120 so as to emit light in the length direction of the lighting strip 100.

  The housing 140 material may be flexible, for example, made of a plastic material. The housing 140 may be reflective on the inner surface to maximize the light output of the lighting strip 100. Any suitable reflective material can be used. The material of the housing 140 may be reflective or the inner surface of the housing 140 may be coated with a reflective material. Further, a reflective layer may exist between the upper surface 148 of the housing 140 and the optical waveguide 120.

  The outer surface of the top surface 148 may include an adhesive for securing the lighting strip 100 to a receiving surface, such as the bottom surface of a shelf or cupboard, or in other examples, the surface of the panel support element 210 of the modular panel system 200. . In other examples, the lighting strip 100 may be fastened to the receiving surface using a suitable fastener. Other securing means will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Although the embodiment of the lighting strip 100 in FIG. 9 is shown as being separate from the panel support element 210, it should be understood that incorporating this embodiment into the panel support element 210 is equally feasible. It is.

  FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the lighting strip 100 in which the housing 140 forms a coating around the support element 210 of the modular panel system 200. This embodiment is also particularly suitable for retrofit purposes. In other examples, such a lighting strip 100 may be attached to the panel support element 210 during its assembly.

  FIG. 11 shows a simulation of the appearance of a modular panel system with a lighting strip or luminaire 100, here a room with a suspended ceiling. A modular panel system uses a primary support beam, such as a band raster, that runs perpendicular to the luminaire 100 with the support elements extending between adjacent primary support beams extended by the luminaire 100. Can have. The simulation shows that if the lighting strip 100 has a width of 24 mm and a length of 60 cm in a ceiling with a row of panel support elements 210 at a pitch P of 60 cm, the luminance of 500 lux on the work surface of the room is 230 lumens each It shows that it can be achieved by having a lighting strip 100 with output, ie a strip 100 of 380 lumen / m.

  As shown in FIG. 12, which illustrates a non-limiting example of a modular panel system 200, the primary support beam 205 of the modular panel system 200 has a panel support element 210 extending between the primary support beams 205. It is suspended from the ceiling 300 of the room while carrying the existing panel or tile 220. The luminaire 100 is attached to the panel support element 210 by, for example, incorporation into the panel support element 210 or attachment to the panel support element 210, as described above. Since the panel support element 210 can be easily removed from the modular panel system 200 without disassembling the entire system, for example, without removing the system from the ceiling 300, the prior art panel support element 210 is in accordance with the present invention. It is simple and cost effective to retrofit the luminaire 100 to the modular panel system 200 by replacing the luminaire with any other panel support element 210 or by attaching the luminaire 210 to an existing panel support element 210. high. Of course, it is also feasible to incorporate the luminaire 100 of the present invention into the primary support beam 205, or retrofit the luminaire 100 of the present invention to the primary support beam 205, which is attached to the panel support element 210. It will not be as simple as (or retrofit) and will likely not be cost effective. In the case of the modular panel system 200 according to the present invention, the ratio between the width W of the exit window of the lighting strip 100 and the pitch P of the panel support elements 210 is preferably selected within the range of 0.02 to 0.08. Reiterates that it is preferably 0.04 for the reasons already explained above.

  Furthermore, the illumination strip 100 according to at least some of the embodiments of the present invention can be produced in a low-cost manner, for example by extrusion techniques, due to the fact that the optical elements in the illumination strip 100 are symmetrical in the length direction of the strip. Note that it can also be manufactured using roll-to-roll technology. Furthermore, the electronic circuitry within the lighting strip 100 of the present invention can be designed such that the lighting strip 100 can be easily cut at any length without losing uniformity.

  The above embodiments are illustrative rather than limiting of the present invention and those skilled in the art can design many other embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. Note that there will be. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word “comprising” does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim. The singular form of an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The present invention can be implemented by hardware having several distinct elements. In the device claim enumerating several means, several of these means can be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Claims (15)

A lighting strip,
An optical waveguide having a tapered portion extending in a length direction of the lighting strip and tapered from a thin edge portion to a thick edge portion in a width direction of the lighting strip;
At least one solid state lighting element incorporated into the optical waveguide and configured to emit light in the length direction into the optical waveguide;
A light strip having a light scattering pattern on the thick edge of the tapered portion for redirecting the emitted light to the thin edge of the tapered portion.   2. The plurality of recesses each having a scattering cavity with an exit surface facing each other in the length direction, wherein each solid state lighting element is disposed in one of the scattering cavities. Lighting strips.   The lighting strip of claim 2, wherein each solid state lighting element is configured to emit light toward the scattering cavity in a direction perpendicular to the width direction and the length direction.   The lighting strip according to claim 1, wherein the at least one solid-state lighting element has a white-light solid-state lighting element at an end of the optical waveguide in the length direction.   The lighting strip according to claim 4, wherein the at least one solid state lighting element has a pair of white light solid state lighting elements at both ends in the length direction of the optical waveguide.   The at least one solid-state lighting element has a first group of solid-state lighting elements at an end of the optical waveguide in the length direction, and the first group emits a light of a different color. The lighting strip according to claim 1.   The at least one solid state lighting element has a first group and a second group of solid state lighting elements at both ends in the length direction of the optical waveguide, and each of the first group and the second group is different. 7. A lighting strip according to claim 6, comprising a solid state lighting element for emitting colored light.   8. The optical waveguide according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the optical waveguide has a pair of tapered portions, the pair of tapered portions configured such that the thin edges of the pair face each other. Lighting strips.   8. The optical waveguide according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the optical waveguide has a pair of tapered portions, the pair of tapered portions configured such that the thick edges of the pair face each other. Lighting strips.   The illumination strip according to claim 1, further comprising a reflective element that covers at least a part of the optical waveguide.   The lighting strip according to claim 1, wherein the light scattering pattern has a pattern of paint dots.   12. A lighting system comprising at least one lighting strip according to any one of the preceding claims.   The lighting system comprises a plurality of the lighting strips, and the lighting system controls for setting the light output of the individual lighting strips as a function of at least one of incident sunlight, room layout and room occupancy. The illumination system of claim 12, further comprising an apparatus.   A panel support element for a modular panel system comprising a lighting strip according to claim 1. A support grid for mounting to a building structure and a support grid having panel support elements for extending between the support members;
A modular panel system having a plurality of panels having a size required to be supported by the support grid,
12. A modular panel system, wherein the support grid comprises a plurality of lighting strips according to any one of claims 1-11.

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